The Articles of Confederation were primarily written by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress on June 11, 1776. The committee included one delegate from each of the thirteen colonies, with John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware (and Pennsylvania), serving as the chairperson and principal writer. John Dickinson wrote the fourth draft of the Articles, which was the basis for serious deliberation by Congress and is notable for naming the new nation "the United States of America." Other contributors who influenced the drafting included Benjamin Franklin, who had earlier proposed the Albany Plan of Union, and Silas Deane from Connecticut. The Articles were debated and revised multiple times before being adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777, and ratified by all the states in 1781.
Thus, John Dickinson is credited as the principal writer of the Articles of Confederation, with input and early drafts from figures like Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane.